Pentecost V, Proper 10, Year B

Amos, 7:7-15
Ephesians, 1:1-14
Mark, 6:7-13

+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

In the middle of the eighth century before our Lord's birth, the Jews were divided in two kingdoms: Judah in the south and Israel in the north. The prophet Amos was a simple, agrarian worker from the south, and he went to the prosperous cities of the north where he found a corrupt society. Amos says that

wealthy merchants, lusting for economic power, were ruthlessly trampling on the heads of the poor and defenseless. Public leaders, reveling in luxury and corrupted by indulgence, were lying on beds [inlaid with ivory, dining on choice lambs, drinking wine by the bowlful, using the finest lotions, and all the while unconcerned about the ruin of the nation].

The sophisticated ladies, whom Amos - in the rough language of a herdsman - compared to the fat, sleek cows of Bashan, were selfishly urging their husbands on. Law courts were used to serve the vested interests of the commercial class. ⁽¹⁾

Amos cried: "You trample upon the poor and take from him his wheat, . . . you oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts." (Amos 5:11-12) Amos was sickened that the religious authorities did nothing to prevent or to speak out against these inhumanities and injustices. Amos understood that God does not merely want lip service and vain piety, he wants justice, righteousness, and peace.

It appears that in the northern kingdom the religious authorities had conspired with the powerful ruling class. Amaziah, the chief priest of the temple at Bethel, quickly charged Amos with treason and reported him to the king. Amaziah behaved as if his vocation required him to be loyal chiefly to the king. Amaziah acted as if it were more important to maintain the king's status, and his status, than to be faithful to God's word. Amaziah does not question the truthfulness of Amos' charges. Rather, he's more concerned with the destabilizing effect they will have. He's afraid of change. He's lost focus of the fundamental responsibilities of serving God. He's focused on his position, on wealth and luxurious living, on being popular, being 'in' with the king. The result is pervasive injustice, empty worship, brutalized people - things that grieve the Lord.

In today's gospel, Jesus implicitly exhibits the same concerns that Amos had nearly eight hundred years before. In sending out the twelve apostles, Jesus gives detailed instructions about what they are to take with them, or really what they are not to take with them. He prohibits them from bringing basic necessities, like food and money. By denying them these things, Jesus shapes their lives and so their ministry. He doesn't want anything to get in their way of proclaiming the gospel. Nothing is more important than their message. Nothing they bring with them will help them accomplish their task, and their message will be more convincing, more effective, by the way they live. Having nothing except a staff and the clothes on your back requires faith in God. "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

We live in a society of exceptional, incredible wealth. We don't really get how important our wealth is to us, how much we rely upon it, how much we are slaves to it. I recently heard that if you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep, then you are richer than 75% of the world; if you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change somewhere, then you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. Wealth is not a bad thing, but it does present spiritual dangers. It can tempt us to believe that it provides all the security we need. Then we start relying upon wealth instead of God, and our faith is not in God, but in ourselves. Faith, religious fervor tend to increase not when we have worldly fortune, but when things are not going so well, when things are tough, when we know our vulnerability and our need. Jesus sent out his disciples to deliver a message, to stick to his program, and that's not possible if we're distracted by our possessions, if our faith is in our wealth.

It's also not possible to proclaim God's message if we're afraid of rejection, if popularity and being fashionable, are an utmost concern to us. Christians should recognize that rejection is part of the package, and not worry about it. No one has ever known rejection as well as Jesus did. We need to have just a bit of the guts and courage that Jesus had. It's hard to stand up for the truth among strangers, and it's even harder to do so among those who are closest to you. But we have to.

Since rejection and failure are part of ministry, Jesus sent out his disciples two by two. They needed one another for support. Their friendships deepened. They had to depend upon one another, and the strength of their relationships made their evangelism more effective. Being faithful, being a Christian, can not happen in isolation. In his great missionary journeys, S. Paul almost always had a companion with him because we need support from one another in proclaiming the gospel, in being faithful to God. In the same way, a healthy parish is a place where people try to love one another and to support one another. It is a place where real relationships - not merely polite ones - are gradually formed. It is a place where newcomers are eagerly welcomed and incorporated into the life of the parish. Making friendships is an essential part of Christian life. Being open to people is a way we let God into our lives.

Another thing that made Jesus and the apostles effective was that they practiced what they preached. Their message wasn't idle words. They'd bet their well-being on it. When you put big stakes on something, when that enterprise is important to you, then you become less critical, less judgmental, less defensive, and more positive, more enthusiastic, more confident. If you love Christ, if you are grateful for all the good things he's given you, then you are going to live the gospel in your life: justice is important to you, peace is important to you, charity is important to you, and it's evident in your life and in the way you deal with people. The apostles had gone out and preached repentance, and they were effective because they knew something about humility, because they knew their own sin, because they knew that Jesus changed their lives.

What would you do if Jesus came to you and stuck you with someone you don't know particularly well, and then told you to leave your money and credit cards at home and go out into the city to proclaim the gospel? Would you do it? It's a big risk. It takes guts. It's frightening. But placing yourself in God's hands is frightening because it'll cause you to change and to grow. The Church is not here to coddle us; it's not here to make us happy; it's not here to keep us in our rigid ways. The Church is here for us to help us grow in the slow and sometimes painful process of becoming like our Lord.

+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

1. Bernard W. Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament, 4^th ed., Prentice-Hall (1986), pp. 297-98. Supplemented with items from Amos 6:4-6.